should be required watching for all the idiots in the 'Racquets Section' who would never play with something as puny as that Yonex 'cos it just doesn't have the plow through to handle those heavy balls at 4.0...

clearly, Nick K should be using a V-Core Tour 89, and any aggressive returns you see off the Groth serve are just , I dunno, flukes...

should be required watching for all the idiots in the 'Racquets Section' who would never play with something as puny as that Yonex 'cos it just doesn't have the plow through to handle those heavy balls at 4.0...

clearly, Nick K should be using a V-Core Tour 89, and any aggresive returns you see off the Groth serve are just , I dunno, flukes...

Click to expand...

BOOM! Spot on. Can't believe the power he's getting on some of his shots.

Didn't see this match going so one sided though :? Sam definitely has the stamina to go to 5 sets though. If i recall he played in the VFL for Williamstown a couple seasons back.

for what it's worth, in jon wertheim's mailbag column today over at cnnsi a reader who plays regularly at melbourne park says the courts have been sped up...perhaps organizers thought the end of last year's tournament wasn't as good as many others thought, though i know many here think that too

for what it's worth, in jon wertheim's mailbag column today over at cnnsi a reader who plays regularly at melbourne park says the courts have been sped up...perhaps organizers thought the end of last year's tournament wasn't as good as many others thought, though i know many here think that too

Click to expand...

Random people discussing court speeds are subjective and people are just giving their impressions which are, at best, a once-over.

If Nadal and Djokovic play in the final, people will be talking about how they slowed them down even more. If Federer and say, Del Potro are in the final, people will discuss how glad they are they finally sped up the courts. Court speed seems to be determined by which player has the most success.

Until someone with the requisite expertise conducts an ITF-accredited measurement for every major, each year, we will have no way of accurately ascertaining court speed and its variation. The eyeball method and random hearsay from players is just noise, convenient cannon fodder for tennis purists.

Random people discussing court speeds are subjective and people are just giving their impressions which are, at best, a once-over.

If Nadal and Djokovic play in the final, people will be talking about how they slowed them down even more. If Federer and say, Del Potro are in the final, people will discuss how glad they are they finally sped up the courts. Court speed seems to be determined by which player has the most success.

Until someone with the requisite expertise conducts an ITF-accredited measurement for every major, each year, we will have no way of accurately ascertaining court speed and its variation. The eyeball method and random hearsay from players is just noise, convenient cannon fodder for tennis purists.

Click to expand...

Mr Einstein, you can find out from the bounce. If the ball bounce too high compared to previous years, it means court has slowed down. Subtle changes can not be detected by eyes.

US Open and Wimbledon is very slow compared to 90s. You don't need rocket science to figure that out

Mr Einstein, you can find out from the bounce. If the ball bounce too high compared to previous years, it means court has slowed down. Subtle changes can not be detected by eyes.

US Open and Wimbledon is very slow compared to 90s. You don't need rocket science to figure that out

Click to expand...

Thanks for the history lesson.

I was replying to the people who every year claim x tournament is slower than the year before. Most of those people are fans watching on TV, and they think just by looking at how the ball bounces, via the TV, they can detect small changes in court speed, even in relation to immediately preceding years.

Playing a short rally isn't enough to determine court speed either. Wind, one's rally partner, how you're feeling that day, the weather at the time can all contribute to how one perceives the court.

Now, even if one's perception is correct and there is a small change in court speed, one still has a long way to go to demonstrate that it was done deliberately. There are innumerable reasons why a court's speed can vary within a reasonable margin from year to year: amount of rainfall, exposure to sunlight, amount of play before the tournament. Then, one has to take into account that each year the court is resurfaced. While there is a specific formula for plexicushion, for instance, it may be that there are minor variations in the kind or amount of given materials available and applied. Only when all those things, as well as others I've likely not considered have been ruled out, can we say with certainty a court has been slowed down deliberately.

Yes, we all know Wimbledon slowed down their grass courts by changing the grass mixture and vastly improving the hardiness of the soil. They announced exactly what they were going to do. We also know plexicushion is slower than rebound ace. That is consistent with ITF's court pace ratings which have measured each surface. What we don't know is that, for instance, the US Open slowed down the court between 2009-2010, or 2010-2011, as many people here like to claim definitively because their favourites have failed to win it, and we certainly don't know if it was slowed down, that it was done intentionally. Two years is a very small sample size.

Will be interesting draw now. Whoever doesn't draw Murray stands a good chance. If it's Djokovic, he seems a lock to make the final and a huge favourite. If it's Roger, he's got a very good chance to make it interesting by easing to the final while the two top favourites (atleast imo) slug it out.

Wow AO just got 10x more interesting and if Djokovic draws Murray,it could be one of the most interesting AO in years!

Click to expand...

What if Federer draws Berdych in the quarters? Would you be confident that Federer gets into the finals? The only guy from a potential quarter final show down who has been Federer in multiple slams and had him on the ropes in Australia in 09?

What if Federer draws Berdych in the quarters? Would you be confident that Federer gets into the finals? The only guy from a potential quarter final show down who has been Federer in multiple slams and had him on the ropes in Australia in 09?

Click to expand...

I totally forgot good ole Birdy,my bad. Yea you're right no TBerd/Murray in Fed's half,please.

PS I still feel Fed can beat Tberd and Murray on a good day but playing them back to back would be too much to ask. Especially Murray-Djokovic back to back would be pretty bad.

When this thread was just made I voted for Murray, but I'm leaning more towards Djokovic now. He did have a lot of family related issues last year and he still managed to finish the year so well. He looks really confident and I'm afraid we might face a Djokovic that comes close to 2011 level.

Who are the most dangerous players at AO apart from Djoko, Murray and Fed? I would say Delpo, Berd, Tsonga (in no particular order) and in the dangerous outsiders category: Raonic, Nishi, Cilic, maybe Tomic (especially in an early round). Anyone else?

I wonder how he will do. I have no expectations at all. Wouldn't be surprised if he made it until the 4th round, wouldn't be surprised if he went out in the first round to a qualifier. It would surprise me though if he made the quarters or better.

Who are the most dangerous players at AO apart from Djoko, Murray and Fed? I would say Delpo, Berd, Tsonga (in no particular order) and in the dangerous outsiders category: Raonic, Nishi, Cilic, maybe Tomic (especially in an early round). Anyone else?

Click to expand...

Certainly Ferrer is more dangerous than someone like Tomic or even Cilic. The surface is slow, and Ferrer had an awesome end of the year.

Other than this, I don't see many players that could make a semifinal.

Certainly Ferrer is more dangerous than someone like Tomic or even Cilic. The surface is slow, and Ferrer had an awesome end of the year.

Other than this, I don't see many players that could make a semifinal.

Click to expand...

Ferrer will give a tough match to any top player but I don't see him getting a win vs any of the top 3. Come crunch time, he's not up to it. Whereas the others could cause a suprise upset in the early rounds. Not saying it's likely but it's possible. The only one Ferrer could upset is Delpo and Delpo is not quite a favorite for the title imo. (Almagro could also upset a guy like Berd btw)